Electrical connectors are used in a wide variety of applications, including applications wherein the connector must be sealed from the environment or the surroundings within which the connector is used. In fact, some connectors must be waterproof in order to seal and protect the interior components of the connector. For instance, waterproof connectors are used in underground applications such as in conjunction with irrigation valves. Waterproof or sealed connectors also are used in controls, pumps and the like for marine applications. Environmentally sealed connectors also are widely used in automotive or other vehicular applications.
A type of sealed or waterproof connector for terminating electrical wires is called a splice or tap connector. Such connectors often require the wire ends to be pushed into openings in one end of the connector until they are properly positioned within the connector. The wires are then forced into interengagement with a contact element which electrically interconnects or splices the wires together.
Still further, splice or tap connectors often are provided as insulation displacement connectors. Insulation displacement connectors are used to interconnect electrical wires which have conductors surrounded by an outer insulating layer. The conductive contact element of the connector is effective to cut through the insulating layers of the wires and make contact with the central conductors of the wires without stripping the insulating layer from the wires or crimping a terminal to the bare wire.
Heretofore, a typical sealed connector of the character described, particularly a waterproof connector, fills an internal space of the connector housing with a waterproof grease or gel to make the connector impervious to the ingress of moisture. Problems have been encountered with these types of connectors because the waterproof greases or gels can wash out of a connector over time, and the connector, thereby, loses its sealing capabilities. Furthermore, secondary filling operations may be time-consuming and expensive, adding to the cost of an otherwise simple and inexpensive connector.
The present invention is directed to solving these problems and providing a very simple but very effective sealed electrical connector, particularly a connector of the insulation displacement type.